THE release of statistics revealing the extent of the North-East's continuing population drain is worrying indeed.

The number of people in the region is expected to fall by two per cent over the next 25 years. That doesn't seem a great deal at first glance, but when the North-East is the only region in the UK predicted to suffer a declining population that makes it a cause for concern. This trend has been established for many years now; what is most worrying is that the statisticians think it will continue. This is despite the fact the contraction of the old labour-hungry industries is now virtually complete. People are still leaving the area beause they think they can find a better life elsewhere, specifically the South of England.

While this may have been the case over the last 25 years, it is questionable whether the South of England will be a better place to live in another 25 years' time. Surely quality-of-life will become more important to people? Will the ever-more overcrowded and congested South be as attractive then?

These are questions One NorthEast, the regional development agency, will be hoping become more relevant as the region endeavours to hang on to its greatest asset - its people. Continuing economic regeneration depends on the brain drain coming to a halt and, ideally, being reversed.

It is timely, then, that the new year will see the agency embark on a major initiative to address problems of the region's image, both from within and outside. Outside the North-East people tend to know little about it and what they do know tends to be stereotypical notions of declining industries. Within the region our love of the area is something we tend not brag about, perhaps born of a steady erosion of self-confidence.

The population trends statistics also tell another story about migration within the region. The exodus from the cities to the countryside is expected to continue and that will pose its own set of problems, not least for housing and transport. Rural areas cannot generate the jobs for all the people who want to live there so that in turns means more commuting. The rural housing shortage is a problem we are already familiar with.

All this highlights the importance of our cities. We have to make them more attractive places to live and work in so they can hang to their people and stop the exodus to the South and the countryside